Unemployment Rate in France increased to 7.70 percent in the third quarter of 2025 from 7.60 percent in the second quarter of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - France Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate in France from 1991 to 2024. In 2024, the unemployment rate in France was around 7.37 percent. Population of France A member of the G7 and G20, France is one of the world's most powerful, advanced and emerging economies. With a total population of around 65 million people, France’s economy must adapt itself to employ the growing population. Although the rates of population growth in the past five years have declined in comparison to the population growth rates between 2003 and 2007, there is still an overall growth in the total population. An important factor that directly affects the French economy is the percentage increase in people who are 65 years of age or older and the percentage decline of people between the ages of 15 and 64 years. Because the percentage of the working population is decreasing, mainly people between the ages of 15 and 64 years, and the median age of the population in France is increasing, the economy must adapt to the growing competition by providing more employment opportunities. With the Eurozone crisis and global financial crisis of 2008, the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in France suffered dramatic drops between 2008 and 2009 in comparison to the previous year. Despite having increased between 2009 and 2013, employment in France has not reached the record high of 2008 again yet. In addition, the unemployment rates in the last decade have increased by almost two percent.

France - Unemployment rate was 7.50% in June of 2025, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for France - Unemployment rate - last updated from the EUROSTAT on December of 2025. Historically, France - Unemployment rate reached a record high of 10.50% in December of 2014 and a record low of 7.10% in March of 2023.

View monthly updates and historical trends for France Unemployment Rate. Source: Eurostat. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

In 2010, unemployment rate in France reached a record level of 10.4 percent. Unemployment remains a rampant issue for French economy, being stagnant year-over-year since the financial and economical crisis in 2008. During the first quarter of 2018, more than 1.4 million people aged between 25 and 49 years were unemployed in France.

Change in unemployment since 2008

In 2008, year of the financial crisis, unemployment rate in France reached its lowest level since 2004. That year, France had an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent while, one year before it had reached 8 eight percent. Unemployment is an important economic factor for a country and a measure of a region’s economic health. Despite its low level in 2008, unemployment rate in France increased steadily between 2009 and 2016. In 2015, it even reached its highest level since the mid-2000s with a percentage of unemployed people among the French population which was of 10.4 percent. That year, unemployed people represented 11.5 percent of the urban population in France. However, French unemployment rate seemed to be experiencing improvements in recent years. In 2017, long-term employment rate decreased after several years of constant growth.

Unemployment in France and the EU

European markets were particularly affected by the 2008 global financial crisis and the recession which followed. Nevertheless, Unemployment rate in the EU reached 6.5 percent in January 2019, compared to 7.2 percent one year before and the number of unemployed persons in the European Union and the Euro area is declining since 2018. This improvement seems to be affecting France to a lesser extent. France was one of the EU members with the highest unemployment rate in 2019, and youth unemployment still reaches a record number in the country.

Historical dataset showing France unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

Youth Unemployment Rate in France increased to 18.30 percent in September from 18.10 percent in August of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - France Youth Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Key information about France Unemployment Rate

• France Unemployment Rate increased to 7.70% in Sep 2025, from the previously reported figure of 7.60% in Jun 2025.
• France Unemployment Rate is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1975 to Sep 2025, with an average rate of 0.00%.
• The data is reported by reported by National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
• In the latest reports, France Population reached 68.61 million people in Dec 2024.

During the first quarter of 2025, La Réunion and Guyane, two overseas regions, had the highest unemployment rate among all French regions. Over there, the unemployment rate reached **** and **** percent, respectively, compared to around *** percent in Bretagne and Pays de la Loire. Unemployment: an important issue in the economy of France France has been struggling with unemployment since the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. The unemployment rate in the country reached a record level in 2015 when it amounted to nearly **** percent. However, the situation of employment in France has shown signs of recovery since then. Youth unemployment in the country is finally decreasing; in the meantime, long-term unemployment in France has not yet regained its pre-2008 levels, but stood at *** percent in 2024, a decrease of *** points since the previous year. Being unemployed in France Unemployment does not affect the population in the same way. As displayed by this figure, the northern part of France, which used to be a mining center, was more impacted by the phenomenon. Workers, contrary to the more qualified socio-professional categories, were also more affected by unemployment, as well as women, who are usually more unemployed than men in France, regardless of their nationality.

Quarterly dataset of the France Unemployment Rate, including historical data, latest releases, and long-term trends from 1975-03-31 to 2025-09-30. Available for free download in CSV format.

Historical dataset showing France youth unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

Long Term Unemployment Rate in France increased to 1.80 percent in the third quarter of 2025 from 1.70 percent in the second quarter of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - France Long Term Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Since 2015, the unemployment rate of young French men and women has been steadily decreasing. While the 2008 economic crisis caused financial troubles in all EU member states, impacting companies and banks, studies have shown that the lack of follow-up and the absence of options for young people without diplomas are some of the main causes of youth unemployment in France. Younger generations are more affected by unemployment The global unemployment rate of the country increased from 2011 to 2016, and it went down to around *** percent by 2024. However, in recent years, younger generations seemed to be particularly affected by unemployment in France, while the percentage of the working population is decreasing in the country. The issue of unemployment in France France has one of the highest unemployment rates in the European Union. Workers seem to be more affected by unemployment compared to employees or managers, while long-term unemployment is more prevalent among the older generations. Thus, for years, the French government has been trying to find solutions to curb the rise in unemployment. The average monthly gross amount of benefits increased slightly since 2011, while the country spent more than ** million euros on work and employment, which was only the government’s ninth spending area that year.

France - Unemployment rate: From 15 to 24 years was 18.70% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for France - Unemployment rate: From 15 to 24 years - last updated from the EUROSTAT on November of 2025. Historically, France - Unemployment rate: From 15 to 24 years reached a record high of 24.70% in December of 2015 and a record low of 17.20% in December of 2023.

Historical dataset showing St. Martin (French part) unemployment rate by year from N/A to N/A.

Historical dataset showing St. Martin (French part) youth unemployment rate by year from N/A to N/A.

This statistic presents the long-term unemployment, in France, from the first quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2022, by age. It reveals that in Q3 2022, 1.7 percent of the population aged between 25 and 49 years was unemployed for at least one year.

The unemployment rate for women in France was *** percent in 2024, compared with *** percent for men. Since 2015, both female and male unemployment rates have decreased year-on-year, from *** percent for women and **** percent for men. Moreover, the gap between female and male unemployment rates has reduced quite significantly since 1996. Indeed, for that year, **** percent of the female active population was unemployed compared with only *** percent of the male active population, when in 2024 both rates were around ***** percent.

Historical dataset showing French Polynesia unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

France - Unemployment rate: Females was 7.20% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for France - Unemployment rate: Females - last updated from the EUROSTAT on December of 2025. Historically, France - Unemployment rate: Females reached a record high of 10.20% in December of 2013 and a record low of 7.10% in December of 2022.